How Rage-Quitting Can Help You

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Have you ever gotten furious at a game, quit, taken a break, and then came back to the game and felt silly because the boss was somehow super easy this time? Today on Psych of Play, we take a look at why on earth this happens, what extinction bursts are, and why you’ve been “Rage-Quitting” since you were literally in diapers.
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▶Games Shown
Control (2019) - Remedy Entertainment
Ghost of Tsushima (2020) - Sucker Punch Productions
Hollow Knight (2017) - Team Cherry
Dark Souls (2011) - FromSoftware
Dark Souls 3 (2016) - FromSoftware
Dandara (2018) - Long Hat House
Dead Cells (2017) - Motion Twin
Cuphead (2017) - Studio MDHR
Bloodborne (2015) - FromSoftware
Undertale (2015) - Toby Fox
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) - FromSoftware
Dandara (2018) - Long Hat House
Super Mario Odyssey (2017) - Nintendo
Celeste (2018) - Matt Makes Games
Fire Emblem Warriors (2017) Intelligent Systems
Genshin Impact (2020) - miHoYo
Monster Hunter: World (2017) - Capcom
Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) - Square Enix
Final Fantasy VII (1997) - SquareSoft
Nioh (2017) - Team Ninja
Luigi's Mansion (2001) - NIntendo
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) - Nintendo
Super Meat Boy (2010) - Team Meat, Edmund McMillen
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (2017) - Bennett Foddy
Ghost of Tsushima (2020) - Sucker Punch Productions
Control (2019) - Remedy Entertainment
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012) - Valve Corporation
Megaman X (1993) - Capcom
Dead Cells (2017) - Motion Twin
Geometry Dash (2013) - RobTop Games
Ninja Gaiden Black (2005) - Team Ninja
Journey (2012) - That Game Company
Pode (2018) - Henchman & Goon
▶Clips/Movies Shown
Friends (1994)
Looney Tunes (1930-69)
Dragonball Z (1989)
Courage the Cowardly Dog (1996)
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Teen Titans (2003)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2014)
Naruto (2002)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Tom and Jerry (1940)
Inside Out (2015)
The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Babies (2020) - Netflix
Marriage Story (2019)
Kaguya Sama: Love is War (2019)
Hoodwinked! (2013)
Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999)
Samurai Jack (2001)
Man of Steel (2013)
Other clips and considerations:
• Optimal Arousal
▶Music Sources:
Hyrule Field Morning - Zelda Ocarina of Time OST
Bouldergeist (Fast) - Super Mario Galaxy OST
Apparel Shop - Pokemon Sun/Moon OST
Grumble Volcano - Mario Kart Wii OST
Passionate Duelist Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! OST
DK Island Swing - Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games OST
Re-Tail - Animal Crossing: New Leaf Music OST
Magma Dragoon Stage Theme - Megaman X4
System Settings - Dj Cutman ( • Dj Cutman ▸ System Set... )
NoSlaps - DJ Grumble ( / gbeats )
Celeste B-Sides - 07 - Kuraine - Summit (No More Running Mix)
Water Wall - Transistor OST
Pokémon BW - Low HP battle theme (Heavy metal version) - MATTIAmmazzo mix ( • Pokémon BW - Low HP ba... )
White Palace - Hollow Knight OST
Mii Maker ~ Editing a Mii (Gamepad) - Wii U System Music
.Uzu - my gamecube broke.. - ( / my-gamecube-broke-so-d... )
▶Research Articles Cited
docs.google.co...
*All images, graphics, and fonts created or found with postermywall.com, Pexels.com, Videvo.net, and Lightworks v14 editing software. All gameplay footage captured with Elgato 60FPS recording device*
#PsychofPlay

[@Poly_0000]

Came for game design and psychology, left with good parenting advice.

[@3bodYking99]

@BlueDragon 12 the advise of not to reward you children for every small thing, keep it leveled, they do good ok, they do it again good, the third time they deserve a toy, and like that, the same would go with punishment, the worst they do, like making more mistakes, the worse the punishment should be, don't shut down their ps4 for a week because they forget to do their homework one time, that would just make them hate school and just think "i NEED to do homework to play" and they would do it just for that, start with something simple like scolding them, they do it again, shorten their time on the game, and stuff like that, and on the other hand, if they did better and continue to do homework first then play later, and never forget to do it, reward them with one or two hours more on ps4, and like that

[@lilowhitney8614]

@@3bodYking99 That's... not exactly correct, since children are very complicated and the action of reward/punishment interacts with several systems of behaviour. For one, there's the development of internal vs external motivation. Positive reinforcement is generally a lot healthier than negative reinforcement. Children often take really unexpected conclusions from certain actions. If we use the example given in the video of the toddler with the turtle toy, then sure they learn that crying won't give them the toy back, but they are just as likely to take from it that their emotional needs won't be met when they express distress (which is a complicated way to say that leaving a kid to cry themselves out tends to create fucked up adults). *TLDR: child psychology is complicated, don't apply to them adult psychology since it will have unexpected results*

[@3bodYking99]

@@lilowhitney8614 i know that's more complicated then what i said, but not that much, i was raised that way, and most my family did, i am not saying that everyone is the same, but what i am saying is, positive reinforcement only doesn't work, you need both positive and negative reinforcement is also necessary, not negative punishment, but negative reinforcement, as the example of adding more hours of playing when the child stops ignoring their schoolwork

[@3bodYking99]

and not doing so much of either, since always rewarding the small things would give a bad example as if everything they do is perfect and they NEED to always expect a reward for something good, while not trying better, and the same for punishment, if you punish a child harshly on insignificant mistakes you would make them hate you and the thing you're punishing then for, and for the turtle example, instead of ignoring the kid, it's better to encourage them to get it themselves, instead of "my feelings doesn't matter" make "i shouldn't ALWAYS rely on others" and like that

[@Poly_0000]

@@3bodYking99 man I'm happy my dumb comment is inspiring so much smart discussion.

[@AshenDust_]

This was uploaded as I was fighting Nightmare King Grimm. Pretty fitting

[@diogopereira9559]

It took me so long to beat him. Eventually I even beat Radiant NKG. Just keep going!

[@loafuscranbrry8488]

I’d suggest switching out charms every 10-15 attempts. Trying different strategies couldn’t hurt. Let us know when you beat him!

[@joshyboy6299]

I feel you😔😔😔

[@cheiftainvulpix]

Splatoon 2 secret boss and original pokemon blue rescue team harder dungeons. :')

[@Makoto0729]

I tried for hours to beat him, gave up, went to bed, and beat him on my first try the next time, kind of like it says here. You can do it!

[@thedunceguy8530]

“I wake up with a smile” That doesn’t happen often

[@pepi7404]

And if it does, it's usually a bad omen.

[@killerbug05]

Everyday of my life that I woke up with a smile bad things happened.

[@hi28]

@@pepi7404 never forget to never have high expectations for any day

[@madao7865]

A video about how personality affects anything in gaming sounds like an awesome topic. I would love to see a video on that. Or two. Or however many you are willing to make.

[@Aloewaves]

That's interesting! I rlly wanna see that :0

[@rastko7261]

Same here. I'd love if he explored personality tests in games like Pokemon Mistery Dungeon or if a person is more common to be an asshole to NPCs or other players based on their real life personalities.

[@DarylTalksGames]

I've accepted it's gotta happen, only a matter of time now... which I'm equally excited for and dreading the research for haha

[@dracoplayz2757]

@@DarylTalksGames just saying, if you actually upload it put a certain disclaimer since you say your kinda new and people is pretty complicated.

[@toricraig2875]

Me too!!!

[@Boomerkbom57]

"I hope you do the thing where you smile and blow a little through your nose." My Nose: I am going to do what is called a pro gamer move.

[@a2pabmb2]

Snot Rocket: Imma boutta ruin this man's whole career

[@3bodYking99]

@@a2pabmb2 man why you gotta do me like that

[@pinkajou656]

Lmto I do that

[@misternoone6392]

I spent 5 hours on the chapter 5 c side on celeste. I got all the way to the end- and missed the golden heart. And then fell into the spikes. So after I rage quit, and after another 2 hours, i beat it first try. And then missed the heart and fell into the spikes again. I never came back to that level for 2 months.

[@JPOfAwesomeness]

Oh

[@AshenDust_]

I had a similar experience with the Radiance from Hollow Knight. After 10+ tries, I did her first phase hitless, took quite a lot of hits in her second phase, but got it over quickly with Abyss Shriek Spam, was left with 1 hp, and then died to her super easy final phase. I didn’t even get hit by the lasers, I just missed a jump and fell into the Void Tendrils below

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Man, I don't have any patience for Celeste, I'm on Farwell since some time ago and I can barely consider finishing it (I'm on half the level and hadn't touch since a long time ago), I don't even want to try any golden strawberry or even the c sides. You have my respects.

[@iveharzing]

@@juanrodriguez9971 When Farewell was released, I had just finished the B-sides and 1 C-side. I knew that it was going to be hard, because they said that on release, but I decided to do it anyways before the other C-sides. It took me 16.5 hours and a total of 6000 deaths (summit B-side was only 6h and 2000 deaths for me) If you think it's worth it, do it. If you don't want to, that's fine as well, it's designed to be brutally difficult and long.

[@Perfectix]

....did you try it again

[@theviralmelon]

Don't worry Daryl, everyone ragequits over Primal Aspids. _stupid homing venom_

[@DarylTalksGames]

I know you're meme-ing but that actually makes me feel a lil better lmao

[@guythatdosethingssometimes2651]

I've never rage quit a game But primal aspids make me immensely sad.

[@hiraethion]

I fear no man But that thing.... *PRIMAL ASPIDS* ...it scares me.

[@mrsponkman]

@@DarylTalksGames Same

[@ronthehuman3618]

oh wow viral i know you since when i was active in the levelhead discord and seeing you here kinda excites me for some reason

[@duchi882]

*"When Rage Quitting Helps"* *Vegeta:* Rage and Quitting should not go together. Bulma told me the same with Losing Weight. Why would I lose against Weight?!

[@Mine_that_is_filled_with_salt]

🅱️ruh

[@B0redZer0]

This sounds like straight out of DBZ abridged haha.

[@Surokkh]

@@B0redZer0 Anyone who's seen the series is born in the right generation hahahah

[@thaumagraphist]

I had never played any kind of roguelike game prior to Hades and I was honestly very concerned going in that the entire "you die, you start over from scratch" premise of the gameplay loop would make it way too stressful to be enjoyable, but what really surprised me was how soothing and rewarding they ended up making the entire death loop, so it always felt like you had not only learned more and gotten stronger but you also always felt rejuvenated and well-rested going into your next run. Back-to-back attempts at fighting Theseus and Asterius for the first time where you just instantly respawn into their arena to Theseus's taunting and them just continuing to gang up on you and overpower you would have honestly been infuriating. Having to fight my way back to them each time, reflecting on new strategies and working on my new build along the way, I think that helped me enter each attempt with a lot more clarity and peace of mind. Get too worked up and it's much harder to maneuver through the elements of the fight that require precision, like dodging Theseus's spear at the right moment, or steering Asterius's bull rush into one of the pillars. And getting that down is good practice using a lot of the same principles you need for the fight with Hades himself.

[@doctorbonez9685]

I remember how shocked I was when I beat cuphead cause I never was good at hard games, but I think the reason I did is because of the great soundtrack. I was always willing to start again just to hear that great theme again and I never got overstimulated

[@analogapotheosis4275]

This happened to me too. The Animation and concepts and music made me want to die again to watch it all over again

[@duchi882]

I can't help but imagine how dark the video title would be if it is applied in real life, *TierZoo* style

[@JayNerf]

So this video has left a lasting impression for me. I think about it almost daily and tend to notice small extinction bursts all around me. I was in my last few days working at my local airport, training my replacement when I first watched this video and was able to implement the use of extinction bursts in helping my coworker get past some roadblocks. For context, I worked the night shift and only had to fuel several aircraft, one of which was a Boeing 737-400 cargo plane. For that plane, the attachment point for the fuel hose is located on the underside of the right wing and requires the fueler to be up on a ladder. Attaching the fuel hose while precariously perched can be a daunting task, and my coworker struggled severely with finding the right angle to properly hook up. He became flustered and angry, eventually giving up completely. I told him to step back and let me do it, then he would try again the next evening. Lo and behold, the following night he was able to hook up with only a minor struggle. I went into that first night fully knowing that he most likely wouldn't be able to accomplish the task, but that he'd stew on it overnight and come back the next day and pull it off. Thank you for the quality content and know that it absolutely has real-world applications!

[@Shiny_Hunter_Rob]

That's why programmers should take a break then they are feeling frustrated. A lesson I keep forgetting...

[@munchoongwong9295]

Yup. I can tell the rest of the chapters of Deltarune are gonna be great already...

[@maki6203]

same i was watching this and suddenly understood why i got so unbelievably angry when my code i spent hours on didnt work

[@nuclearbomb9483]

Why won't it print hello world? >:(

[@gamefreaknitro]

I remember playing Baba is you for like an hour stuck on this one puzzle, and never finished, and later when I was off to bed and thinking my thoughts, I literally imagined the puzzle in my head and solved it right then and there. I immediately got up and played it again and I was like “damn”

[@7Metal7Monkey7]

Damn, your talk on defeat in the beginning with the dbz clip kinda hit bro. 2:11 It made me think about all the trial and error vegeta has gone through in realizing his ambition in attempts of doing it all alone. And Im not even a huge dbz, vegeta fan either but this struct something in me, truly.

[@SkyeWint]

Hey there, your comments towards the end are actually how I approach difficult game challenges! It's rarely a ragequit from me, I always try to look at each little bit of progress as a victory and it actually works really well. People tell me I'm one of the people with "veins of ice" like you mentioned before, but it's really just processing it differently than "victory = win" and "no victory = lose". I'm succeeding every time I get better. Always try to tell friends this but they don't seem to have an easy time tweaking their mental state like that or just outright deny that it's the case.

[@pencils7351]

I can only manage to do that with troll rage games, like Cat Mario

[@Not_Aaron_]

Amazing video again Daryl! I also have wondered why this type of things happens and I'm super glad I now know. Also I feel like when you take a break or go to sleep your brain is processing all things you just think and possibly thinking of ways to improve your ability to beat for example a boss, without you noticing.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Dude I could do a whole series on the research done on sleep. It consolidates our memories, both procedural and declarative memory, and sooooo much more. Glad you enjoyed it man!

[@voidora_]

This guy is magic

[@booisomeone834]

21 hours ago even tho it just got published

[@JPOfAwesomeness]

@@booisomeone834 patrons get early access to videos :)

[@lirosphere956]

*cough* www.patreon.com/daryltalksgames *cough*

[@NotTheZedCee]

Surprised to learn this is a documented thing. I always called it "simmering" because I thought it was just giving my mind and muscle reflexes time away to fully process and ingrain the patterns and methods I needed to win, like simmering food slowly to cook it. I had no idea it was a stress-related thing as well, since I don't full on rage quit as much as understand "This is as far as I'm gonna get in the state I'm in" before I get too frustrated. Great video!

[@theoaremevano3227]

This is a great topic, and a pretty accurate explanation for how stress impacts gaming. Stress overload can screw things up fast, especially when you're dealing with unknown factors, like "Will this boss have another phase?" or "I don't even know where the game will put me if I lose this." I feel like it's helpful to game design to observe how stress affects gameplay. I feel like I've also noticed that some games have features designed to produce a lot of stress, even if the content itself isn't that hard, and likewise, some players NEED to experience higher stress to feel challenged. A single boss can be extremely tough, but still not add a lot of stress, while a gauntlet of easy challenges can add a lot of stress if it's long enough. They're often seen as the same exact thing, but get very different responses from different people.

[@MrBombSTI]

I remember getting stuck on the last level of Super Mario Galaxy 2, actually getting mad and having to stop for the day, I looked at a few tips and tricks and the next day, I crushed that level. I was always fascinated by this concept. A great place to consistently see it in action is when Rubber Ross plays his own Mario Maker levels when creating them. He plays and fails over and over again, you see him get slightly frustrated but he knows to take a break for a while and come back because that makes him improve immensly. Also a great watch in general.

[@worthasandwich]

For me that rage quit moment can cause me to walk away from a game. I start analyzing how far and how much enjoyment I have gotten out of the game. I walked away from Control when I spent an hour on the first boss and could not make progress, Typhoon. Control made me angry and it had yet to do enough prove it self yet. So I walked away, I tried it again a few months later got stuck at the same point and gave up much quicker that time. There are games where I have gone back and triumphed, but I have to be invested in them and having a good time.

[@catboygremlin]

I do something kinda similar, except I ragequit, forget the game exists, then when I do remember I think "why bother going back it wasn't fun"

[@error707detected]

How personality affects gaming is a *very* interesting topic, I would love to see it

[@hannahrich9476]

Its really cool to hear the science behind this, it happened to me when playing video games, but it also happens a lot when I'm learning a new piece on piano. I'll be struggling a ton with a complex rhythm or difficult fingering so I'll rage quit. Then I'll come back to it a day later and I can play it correctly the first time!

[@j.a.shawkins7640]

Huh! Hearing you say that actually reminds me that I DO use this tactic when I crochet! I hadn't even realized.

[@briandawley7808]

I think the message "Winners never quit" really hurt us. Taking a break feels like quitting and that means we'll never be winners, which piles on the anxiety. At least that's what I've found for me at the back of my mind when I'm like, I know I need to just step away, but...

[@Dylanfrias24]

What about people who never rage even if they die 30 times to a boss? I just smile menacingly if I die lol.

[@taltzi]

psycho smile is the optimal reaction to dying, can confirm

[@cr33p3rhd6]

Damn dude, such badass!

[@juanrodriguez9971]

I guess I'm in that profile, when I lose I have only 2 possible reactions "Ok, I did it wrong there, let's do it again" and "What the heck did just happen???" If the boss is completely fair and I can notice it then I won't complain, just accept my errors, if thw game throws some kind of weird hitbox or just random bullshit I can just ask myelf what happens and how do I avoid it the next time.

[@taltzi]

@@juanrodriguez9971 honestly props to u for managing to stay calm and not throw a cursing fit that would make a sailor proud

[@mikelelola86]

@@juanrodriguez9971 Same for me, the Souls series, Touhou and beating the Hollow Knight bosses in radiant have taught me a lot about learning from my mistakes and nor rage quitting. Except for radiant Absolute Radiance, FUCK that boss and her bullshit rng

[@FableworldVT]

I rarely experience this rage quitting sensation when it comes to games. but I did feel a uncontrollable rage when I shifted my drawing program to another and had to relearn it from scratch. I went from practicing, cursing a storm out of frustrations, left the program for an hour and when I had calmed down, threw myself at it again. it took me a week to learn the whole drawing program's functions

[@Posby95]

The individual zones of optimal functioning seem a lot like the "flow" theory, where there's a goldilocks degree of difficulty on a task that's most enjoyable.

[@tazman4475]

My rage quit moment was the fight with the Watcher Knights in Hollow Knight. I would get into a nice rhythm and then get overwhelmed towards the end on the fight. One time I got to the final knight and my brain kinda switched off and died to it. Took a week off the game afterwards and when I did come back, It felt really easy

[@mikerice868]

I'm one of those plow on though type of people. I've felt before the dip in the quality of my gameplay but over time it comes back with a vengeance. I just usually focus on what I did right and try my best to replicate or learn from it. I feel rage at every death but I guess it just drives me to learn it more so I can overcome it once and for all

[@8-bitnicolai5]

I see this in gaming and in music practice. I'll have hours of practice sessions where nothing goes right, and it feels like I got nothing done. Put the instrument down, go to sleep, wake up, and the next practice session, its weirdly much better. All of that obsessing over detail actually paid off, even if it didn't feel like it.

[@urban_gabor]

3:06 "Maybe for some folks it may take more than 2 tries." I died 4203 times in Celeste (actual stat).

[@CalebWillden]

I died on Farewell more times than I had with the entire rest of the game. I was definitely in that "tantrum" state, haha.

[@Sa_Co_Mi]

This was my experience with nightmare king Grimm in hallow knight. I was trying to beat him for so long and then after an hour of trying on day number 6. I just stopped. But then the next day I had this urge this feeling that I had to fight him, and I did and it was like a dance he only hit me once or twice and then I beat him on my second try and it felt so good and nosk is really easy just stand next to the platform's edge in the middle of the arena and he is really easy and you just have to dodge a few attacks

[@jlin592]

BRUH ME TOO. I had so much problems with NKG, so many freaking deaths, and then the next day I beat him in like three tries :DDD. Same with the Radiance

[@N0M3YA]

my strat is to practice a million times with Lifeblood. once you think you’re ready do it with powerful charms.

[@Pokoro211]

I rage quit ff13 because of the 1st barthandeuls boss which I quit for 1 year. Rage quit the second time on the 2nd barthandeuls boss for 2 years and after a few days of grinding the hell out of ff13, I was the only one in my family able to finish ff13. Rage quiting is absolutely amazing

[@Rickfernello]

Interesting. I think I'm more of the "icy veins" you mentioned, it's very hard for me to "rage quit". Although, sometimes I do just quit and take a break. I am very into Celeste, and I have over 400 hours on Steam, I'm now playing the Spring Collab mod, on the final 3 levels of Grandmaster difficulty, and I also got all of the vanilla Golden Berries. For some reason, most of these times I didn't feel this burst of rage. One other game that I play is osu!, and I don't think I am as good at this game. Osu is when I feel I am less in control, and cannot translate my thoughts into movement as well. In this game I quit much more often, but I don't come back to the same songs with same frequency; but I've noticed just now that when I do come back, it really is much easier. But often when I take very long breaks even, like when I'm not playing for weeks or months. And similarly, sure enough, you're right about the jobs stress level; I used to be one of the top performers in my job when I was afraid of my low performance. But, I'm thinking that, after getting positive feedback, that might be a bad thing for me? When I got positive feedback, I stopped caring as much, and suddenly I was one of the worst performers. Then, I got negative feedback, and I was back at the top again. My supervisor even joked that I was one of the few agents that could suddenly "flip a switch whenever I felt like it", but it's just very hard to "feel like it" to me. I wonder if this has to do with my mental disorders. I wonder how to accurately make yourself on the correct level of stress for each task. At the same time I do want to perform well, I don't want to receive negative feedback despite doing my best; but apparently, that is the best to be done sometimes.

[@DonYagamoth]

I've played quite a few games, where individual boss fights took me 20+ hours to beat. Even though I'm not someone to rage, it still holds very much true: Take a (extended) break, come back later, and suddenly the attempts are significantly better

[@IlaMedlin]

My best friend has been playing Bloodborne over discord for me to watch because it is one of his favorite games, and I have never played. We got to the orphan, and he was like “this is commonly thought of as the hardest boss in the game, we probably don’t get this today.” And then he got it on the second try with very little struggle. I think he only died on the first try because he was trying to let me see all the phases. I heard him set down his controller. And he said quietly: “That is the first time I have ever beaten this boss. I have spent 8 hour game sessions with overtuned characters, but never got it before. Another friend and I tried for days. I don’t know what just happened. I didn’t think I was going to get it, I figured we would move on after I got frustrated or you got bored.” It was truly a thing to witness for his reaction to himself. Big proud of him.

[@chloebangco3752]

There's also a concept in stress regarding distress ("bad stress") or eustress ("good stress"). Eustress gives you that push or motivation to perform at a task (the stimulation you were talking about) while distress causes anxiety, makes you perform worse in video games, and ultimately makes you ragequit. It's also a useful question to ask while playing challenging games, "do I feel more eustress than distress right now?" or "what kind of stress am I feeling?"

[@JoeSmoPedro]

I had this experience a ton playing through disc room. Once I finally learned to accept that I was going to inevitably lose, my nerves relaxed and I was able to plow right through anything I was struggling with.

[@metamayto]

"Your nose won't stop itching." Wait that's not just a me thing?

[@David-eg6sd]

That feeling of success is the sole reason I play games like Beat Saber and Guitar Hero. Sometimes I feel like I strenghen my muscle memory when I get an ohrwurm at work and I zone out mentally, playing the game inside my head.

[@nameofthename]

it's like you turned your skills off and on again

[@SurveyingBTS]

12:55 Oh Alma. You PTSD inducing biatch. I'm so glad you were included in this. She still holds the title of one of the hardest bosses in gaming; and her second phase is an absolute nightmare.

[@mastermindgaming5803]

Honestly, this is incredibly true, as someone who has done very difficult achievements in gaming such as completing the Dark Souls games, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Mein Leben on Wolfenstein 2, the Halo MCC Laso challenges, Cuphead, taking a break instead of screaming at the screen, is basically required, and the amount of times I've spent hours on the same thing, came back, only to two-shot it is astounding...

[@jahad-4409]

A while back I remember spending hours trying to kill nameless king, every other boss in ds3 had been fine for me but for some reason nameless king would just beat me down for hours a day. then one run I got him down to literally 2 hits of health left and I rage quit for the day. came back the next and beat him flawlessly first try lmao.

[@leonisnothere2083]

During my second fight with Hornet (from Hallow Knight) I got my ass HANDED to be by her no matter how many times I tried. She way faster than her first fight and i was still using the tactics I used the first time I beat her. But when I took a break and came back, I beat her first try with a lot of health to spare (only to find out that I only got an unnecessary item that unlocked a certain area of the game that was almost impossible to get through... only to also then find out that getting through the new area only brought me to a 9 second cutscene that cryptically HINTED at lore I never cared much for in the first place)

[@georgia2361]

would love to see something on personality types and gaming !

[@ThatKidTony]

I have this happen when I'm learning something new on piano. I struggle at first, then after a day of not practicing, it becomes so easy. It just clicks.

[@joshy-noha]

Not only that, there's proof that when we go to sleep, we practice the difficult task in our brains over and over and look for solutions. I can't be the only one that goes to sleep and analyzes all the moves I did wrong and how I could've done better on a boss or a multi-player match, lots of times giving me some insomnia lol. Great video!! Keep up the good content.

[@flame3942]

Me beating the last few levels of halo 3 on Legendary: "WAIT MY BRAIN IS WORKING!"

[@deadstroyer952]

I got stuck on the 3rd boss in furi and quit the game but decided to come back many months later, and proceeded to bulldoze through every boss in the game save for the last one.

[@carlosvillarrealelizondo5821]

The exact same thing happened to me with Nightmare King Grimm. Fought him for like over an hour, took a break, came back a bit later, beat him on the second try.

[@lirosphere956]

A late night thought soup before sleep, make me think about things, thanks Daryl.

[@timmit4819]

7:30 just seeing this screen gave me some sever flashbacks...

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

I can at least explain that the reason sleep works for some people is simply because the brain itself is a simulation machine. If you're spending hours feeding it specific patterns from an external simulation, you're training it to focus a portion of your "dreams" onto that. What we define as "having a dream" is just when our focus settles into one of countless internal simulations that are constantly going on in there as we sleep. Some of us can sort of track that focus as we're falling asleep, which is what is happening if you've ever had vague visions of the game you've been invested in as you're starting to drift off. If you happen to have aphantasia, this can also be a useful tool in slowly training your brain to understand the basics of visualization that come standard in most other people's brains. I can say from my own experience that if you really pay attention you can overcome the tendency to get frustrated while playing a game. You can't actually reverse it or eliminate it or whatever, but you can build on it in a way where, when it's triggered, before you even consciously register the feeling, something else is triggered that helps you settle down and focus. Since I taught my brain this behavior, the only time I ever consciously felt that frustration in almost two decades was when I just recently went back to the last game that triggered it, the same game that helped me get past it. So, I'm going to try to go back to that game frequently and see what happens.

[@CSDragon]

The problem is taking a break is humiliating. It's admitting defeat. And that amps up the stress even more. Can't sleep, can't think about anything else. Gotta come back to it.

[@yetravellingsonc8372]

Here's my philosophy; The phrase 'it's just a game' is a double edged sword. When you as a player feel more than confident to take on a task, only for someone else to actively break the suspension of disbelief upon failure, not only makes you feel like you've accomplished less than you have, but also causes what i like to call "immersion whiplash", where you get so immersed into something only for reality to basically force you to not be, without warning. But on the other hand, if you as a player know that you cannot handle a task, the phrase can underplay the previous severity of a loss, and also loosens the tension of said failures.

[@hylianmage413]

For me, it's a balance of trying to find that thin line between a good level of perseverance and just throwing yourself at a challenge and hoping to win. Nowadays, when I'm taking on some crazy task like fighting a nasty boss in Terraria's Calamity mod, I find it easy to slip into that Celeste-taught mentality of 'try, try again' and don't think to do things like check in with my stress level or try and figure out other, external things I can do to make the process easier on myself. It's important to remember that taking the chance to step back, reassess, and reset isn't by any means an admission of defeat.

[@rachelburson900]

10:47 The Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Sympathetic Nervous System came to mind when I saw this part. It seems like the more active you are in whatever activity you are playing at the moment, the more unlikely you will rage quit from said activity. This makes sense because when your Sympathetic Nervous System turns on, that is "fight or flight" kicking on. So in summary, if you are struggling with a boss, go do something physical to calm down.

[@Mallowigi]

This happens A LOT to me in my day job: programming. Many many times I am struggling to progress and am completely exhausted, with pockets in my eyes and to the verge of plucking my hair. And then I give up. I leave the computer. I go watch tv, take a nap or go for a run. Or even leave a whole day pass only to come back the next day. And then it happens. Problem solved. Program doesn't crash anymore. The next idea is the right one. I have this epiphany where I know what to do, when I was struggling before. It happened to me so much that I started to embrace it and whenever I feel like I'm stuck, instead of panicking I'm simply saying to myself "ok time to take a break, I will probably find the solution tomorrow, or even in a week or two but it will happen as it always had".

[@bobthemouse6668]

I have mastered the art of no-rage. Over the years I have learned that anger puts a limiter on my gamer powers, and the same goes for excitement at a near victory. thus, after every death if I feel myself getting too involved, whether it be happiness or anger, I take a deep breath and allow the emotions to fade away and become an emotionless gaming master. This helped a lot in Dark Souls 3 and Hollow Knight

[@Grencye2]

This was an absolute pleasure to watch. Thanks a ton. My greatest example of this was as a kid I couldn't take down Ruby or Emerald Weapon in FF7. Gave up. Maybe 2 or 3 years later, I loaded up the file and crushed them with no effort wondering why they were ever a problem... Oh well!

[@wolfrayne8355]

How have I not discovered you sooner. Not only was this video entertaining, this is exactly how I was able to train my dog out of his aggressive/reactive behaviours. The conditioning, not the boss fights. Give treats about 75% of the time, so that they always know there is a *possibility* of a treat, but don't necessarily expect a treat every time.

[@sclh]

I would add the role that sleep and rest plays in learning, since you try a lot of new paths for motor executuion while trying and failing. Those paths, at first blocked by the arousal level you described, get reinforced with sleep and through replaying the scenarios in your head while you're not playing, giving you a new approach next time you play. Great vid :)

[@semukoMAI]

This sorta helps with learning too, especially at math. When i forced my self to do a work that i dont know how to do i got stressed to the point of me feeling nothing

[@InsomniacMatt]

Happens to me all the time. I'll be struggling, then rage quit, and go have a cigarette break, and as I'm out feeding my nicotine addiction, I'll be thinking what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right. Sometimes I won't go back until the next day, and when I get back, I'll do it in like 2-4 tries and think "how the hell did I struggle with that"

[@paolo3779]

I'm also a psychology student (studying my honours in psychology this year). On top of the 'extinction' process of the child's behaviour : crying and it's associated response from the father: giving the toy back. There could also be simultaneous learning/ process that occurs called "learned helplessness" because the child feels that their behaviour of crying (which can be interpreted as a form of communication to the parent) does not get them the connection or support that they need, thus, why even cry. Learned helplessness in this scenario may impact's the child's world views and beliefs in a way that makes them feel that their actions do not get them connection. That's just my two cents and thought process about it lol. Thanks again Daryl for your content, as a fellow psychology student it's wonderful to see how these theories that we learn in psychology impact our gaming lives.

[@magentialice]

bro the description you started with perfectly describes me and my sisters the first times we tried to defeat the ender dragon. The three of us got decimated our first three tries and we got back to it after about a month or two and just destroyed her. Keep in mind we were like really young so it was challenging for us as children who barely play any games.

[@VoluXian]

One boss that I struggled with for way too long was that sea monster with the horns in Sonic and the Secret Rings. After a few days, I came back and took care of him without a scratch on the first try. Amazing how that does work out sometimes.

[@kylespevak6781]

Also has to do with things getting baked into your long term memory

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

This is definitely me with Cuphead (although when I put a game down from 'ragequit' - because I don't really rage, per se, just basically quit - it tends to be a good month or three before I pick it up again). I actually dread the thought of going back to S-rank the bosses because of the sheer difficulty...

[@MrNoob_11]

This makes so much sense. I had spent several days trying to beat the final boss in jedi fallen order with no success. Finally, when I my buddy over we set up two tvs beside each other so we could play our respective games (rest in piece couch co-op) and I beat the second sister on my first try. It seemed weird that I could beat it so easily while talking with my friend, with skyrim in my peripheral vision, and when sitting casually on the arm of the couch instead of in the proper gamer position

[@psteeg3551]

There's a famous gaming quote: "Games do not make people angry, lag does". The feeling of unfairness is another factor. Personally, whenever I play multiplayer games, I have no problem losing in a fair game when the opponent is better than me (I believe some people cannot take a loss even if the game is completely fair and the opponent is better, but I'm not one of them). However, whenever I feel like the game is unfair (the opponent seems to use an aimbot / the internet connection feels like it is lagging / the controls feel different / whatever), and I am losing not because the opponent is better but solely because the game is unfair in favour of the opponent, I often feel like ragequitting: getting gud at the game will not make me win because the game seems unfair/unbalanced, therefore I have no reason to improve myself and thus I quit.

[@carnelianjester]

I actually just took a personality psych class and did the big 5 trait test! I'm someone who hasn't really ever rage quit a game unless I'm already upset in some way because I have a very high threshold for when I actually get angry. The closest I've gotten to that normally is beating Humphrey in Omori, but even then I just got tired rather than angry because it's a super long fight.

[@foxberry12]

I recently rage quit on the last part of Path of Pain in Hollow knight, and the part of about just waiting to get back into it as fast you can, yet you aren't really learning anymore fits. my brain was just starting to shut off on me

[@MrSpeakerCone]

Absolutely happens to me. First time I noticed it was fighting Capra Demon in DS and since then I've learned exactly where my optimal agitation level is and it's a lesson I've carried with me.

[@YourPalKindred]

It's difficult for me to get tilted now that I'm older, when I was a teenager I was very prone to rage quitting. I do on occasion get upset, but the most I do now is just exclaiming something like "Oh god dammit" And if I feel myself getting madder I just take a break and come back calmer. As I progress through the game and learn it more this happens less and less and I can play for longer at a calm pace

[@LoneOrca]

I rarely experience rage while playing games, but one time that I thought was perhaps psychologically intriguing was when facing the chained ogre in Sekiro -- it's like the vibrantly depicted rage of the ogre rubbed off on me.

[@belalaloca]

I did this with Pure Vessel in Hollow Knight! I spent hours trying to beat him and finally gave up and went to bed. A couple days later my friend was over and I went to show him how impossible the boss was and I beat it nearly hitless first try. My stimulation level was not only lower because I took a long break but also because I put no pressure on myself to win.

[@X-35173]

Sometimes I will be doing the most random thing completely unrelated to anything gaming or KZbin and suddenly start snickering because I randomly remembered "Risky Buscuits"

[@1BlueYoshi]

I've definitely noticed this in action games like Celeste, but maybe more surprisingly I've also noticed this when I played the puzzle game Baba is You. Some levels I would just sit and stare at for like an hour without figuring them out but then I when I come back later (usually after I've had some sleep) boom suddenly I'm like "Oh, duh" and solve the puzzle immediately

[@Inuzumi]

Sometimes is hard to give up for the moment when you're learning the patterns and too afraid of leaving because you think that it will be harder to recover the timing or the correct imputs later. Sometimes you push forward and get lucky, but end up hating yourself for doing so because you feel like shit and its 5am and you're realizing that you've been literally screaming at the screen for 6 hours. Fuck me I didn't even liked the game in the first place.

[@goatyye]

This is what happened to me with Fatalis in Monster Hunter World. The day it was released I wasted the entire afternoon and evening fighting this thing. I knew this monster was going to be a challenge but I was still angry and frustrated. I prepared so hard for this monster and I wasn't awarded with a win. Eventually I realized I went too far and decided to take a break. So I tried again the next day: I got closer but didn't beat it yet. I took another break and tried again the next day: closer than ever. Eventually I had memorized it's entire moveset and learned to dodge most of its attacks. After many attempts, I had finally defeated him. It didn't happen in just one day but I could still tell the effects that taking a break did to me. Also don't even try to beat this thing with randoms like I did, this fight definitely needs team coordination.

[@gribberoni]

This video, alongside some reassuring advice from the Hollow Knight community, was something I really needed when I started doubting if I could actually complete it. Thanks, Daryl! :)

[@DreadKyller]

I'll often play very mentally and sometimes physically demanding games, like Beat Saber in VR, and I'll use that game as an example. I'll often find myself intentionally playing songs that are beyond my abilities, and intentionally make them harder (like playing a song that I can't even beat normally on faster song and disheartening arrows) and even though I have no hope of beating the song, I give it my full effort, multiple times. After a while I'll walk away and repeat the next day. I don't get to a rage-quit stage, by the time I stop I'm still at a fairly calm level of stimulation. I do that for a few days and then when I play the song on normal difficulty I often breeze through it without issue, often even getting A ratings on them despite 3 days ago failing within the first 30 seconds. It's that part about how your brain will continue to subconsciously chew through the stimuli even after it has stopped, a process which seems to be far more potent while sleeping, when your brain seems to sort through and internalize a lot of what occurred during the day, that despite not even practicing in between, the brain is then much better as automatically filtering through the flood of information. It's definitely something I use a lot for learning, intentionally overstimulate my brain with too much information for short bursts, on a fairly regular basis. In fact the very same process is how I taught myself how to code when I was 8. I've found that it definitely works but doing it too often causes me to get a lot of headaches.

[@rinkulink]

In June I played Undertale for the first time and, like many, I was entranced by it. I did the neutral route in my first playthrough, immediately followed that up with a pacifist playthrough and then the genocide route. Then I got to Sans. I struggled hours every day, getting a little further every few tries, trained my muscles to avoid his attacks, one time I reached his final attack... and immediately died. Eventually, I couldn't bring myself to trying it again and stopped. For five months the desire to eventually come back and beat him lingered in the back of my mind. "I cannot leave that game unfinished", I thought to myself over and over again. But the urge to finally do it was halted by the dreadful prospect of failing again. A few times I thought "I'll just boot up the game and do it now" but then I hesitated and did other things instead every time. The game sat in my Steam library, constantly reminding me "Last Played: June 17". And the longer I was away from it, the more I thought my muscle memory faded, that I would have to start from zero again, all my progress gone. Exactly one week ago, on Tuesday, November 23rd, I opened up Steam and without the intrusive thoughts that kept me away, without any thought in my mind, I booted up Undertale. To my utter surprise, it seemed as if my muscle memory has not left me. Sans' attacks hit me, but couldn't kill me as easily as I expected. After only 20 minutes, on my fifth try, I've gotten farther than I've ever been five months ago. I still failed over and over again, but the part of my brain that would have given up before just didn't activate. Several times I reached the last few moments of the fight just to fail, but I tried again, without any hesitation, just going for it. And after three hours flew by like a single moment, I did it. Five months of absence prepared me to become better at an exponential rate and I succeeded. Following ten seconds of euphoria, of running through my room in blissful disbelief, I sat back down at the computer, finished the easy last part of the fight and got to the end of the game. The box got ticked off my internal, mental checklist. Undertale, the genocide route, Sans moved from a looming presence into an unremarkable past. I have not figured out yet, whether the struggle and my incapability of leaving it behind, of allowing it to occupy space in the intrusive parts of my brain for such a long time was worth it, because I don't just don't care anymore. It would have been no different if I had never tried in the first place. It's just emptiness, no lessons learned, no progress made, just unremarkable emptiness.

[@rsmssnpdr]

Had a thought while watching this. I wonder if rage quits are more likely to happen at the end of a nice session vs the rage quit being the entire session? Like, are you more likely to quit a boss fight after working your way toward it or after having the boss fight at the start of your gaming session? Because the better we get a more complex tasks the easier they become and the more stimulation we can handle while completing them. I can see a narrative where the player is able to endure the challenge of a new area because it is similar enough to what is expected and the rewards of defeating these smaller enemies is flowing in. This coming to a point where the boss fight has stopped giving those rewards, the stress level has already been raised due to the preceding areas, making the player more frustrated in a stress spiral climaxing in a rage quit.

[@Realmfaker]

Never have this happen. I like my bosses to be a challenge, the moment I die multiple times I get happy because I know I need to overcome a challange which makes me motivated. Dying brings you progress, it makes you learn which attack kills you on which health and shows what was the wrong thing to do. The more times I die, the more fun the boss. (At least most of the time.) On the other hand, I have extreme social anxiety in real life. Any small setback makes me very unmotivated. Can barely handle any stress and brings me a lot of problems.

[@koreancrabking4936]

In Doom Eternal I made a challenge run for myself where I can only use combat shotgun and grenades/ icebomb as well as flame thrower, no extra lives and no suit upgrades all on nightmare. I came to Mars Core where I'm countless hours in and am constantly getting abraded by two Barons of hell and other demons as each of my strategies are outperformed by pure raw power. I got mad at my own self torture after what I can only assume to be around 50 attempts, took a break and came back to beat it in far less to continue my masochistic endeavor

[@mtndewprettygud6416]

When Elden Ring came out I didn't know what I should do next, so my buddy was watching me play & told me to go fight Radahn (pre-patch). I rage quit after the 20th or 30th attempt for a short period, went & smoked a bowl, came back & beat him first try. I love this phenomenon

[@celestialelixir3839]

Back in 2014 I played this fighting game called Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. I was steadily progressing for a while in the rankings online and then just hit a wall suddenly. Actually deranked like twice. Decided to take an entire month away from the game, no vids, didnt hop on when friends wanted matches, nothing. Came back after that month with a fresh mindset and went on the best win streak I've ever had to this day, with multiple people commenting on how that break apparently did wonders for me. Sometimes you just need to step away

[@yourdemiseishere]

Dont forget the part where you beat it thinking you were losing and just sorta feel nothing, having wasted time and everything just to get to the next stepping stone. But basically your subconcious adapts, thats all it is.

[@hailonyourparade]

I wonder how much this is the same thing, but what came to mind was advice I got in college. Even when you're pulling an all-nighter to study, it's probably more valuable to get SOME sleep before the test than it is to keep studying until the last minute. The reasoning being your brain needs downtime to sort through new information and make valuable connections in deep sleep. Probably works similarly when you retackle challenging game bosses or puzzles: your body took all your prior attempts, muscle memory practice, new concepts and tactics, and now those connections in your brain are stronger than they were last night.

[@liviousgameplay1755]

Thanks for this. I kinda glad knew this, but my brain would go, “If you take a break you’ll probably win next time, which is basically cheating,” and the. I’m up at 2 in the morning trying to beat Riku-Ansem. It’s nice to know that chilling and coming back is natural.

[@minervapuranen1102]

This happened to young me in super mario galaxy 2. So I was at the last couple regular stars, and got to the boss blitz comet. I tried... so many times... eventually, I quit. Took a solid week-long break, did it maybe first, maybe second try, then proceeded to do the flip-out comet in under five tries. Side note: when I ragequit the perfect run, I took over a year-long break. Shoutout to Mayro for making a video showing a good way to beat it.

[@ISerathI]

I have a personal limit, that if I spend more than one hour straight hitting the same brick wall, I stop playing, or go to some other area of the game. I learned that the hard way with Dark Solus, since it was my first souls game, and it helps me a lot. Both in term of playing better, and to keep me sane.

[@thecheck968]

Actually, this makes sense. I never get angry at a game, just hyper and anxious. My hands will literally shake and I will starting laughing like a maniac at my breaking point. Reminds me of the final battle in Jedi Fallen Order.

[@jordanrodrigues8265]

Twice during my first ascent in Celeste: a few screens from the 6A "level up" moment and flag 13 in 7A. 🤔 Both were needle-threading challenges that I was extremely motivated to overcome. Both pretty much at the climax of the chapter when it comes to difficulty. (I see speedrunners take a death at that point in 7A and it's so validating.) I had a sense of "aww, I'm not gonna make it tonight." Then crushed it the next morning, rested and suitably extinguished.

[@emblemblade9245]

This happened to me on that cursed chapter 7 B-Side of Celeste. 2 hours of getting close but failing, then I beat it in less than 15 minutes the next day. That’s probably the first time in recent memory that really made me acknowledge how taking a break helps. A similar experience occurred in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate a month ago. Making very rushed, noticeable mistakes one time, but then being way more composed and smooth the next day. I feel like this applies somewhat in Super Smash Bros as well. Needless to say, I heavily believe in this concept.

[@salt8044]

Pure Vessel from Hollow Knight. I spent a whole night trying to memorize all of his attacks just to fall asleep, did something else with my life the next day, then coming back and beating him first try.

[@eeveekid6426]

What you described in the beginning happened to me, pretty accurately actually. I couldn't beat the watcher knights in Hollow knight, so I quit for a few hours. Then, a bit later, I picked it up again, thinking this would take a couple of hours and then I beat it first try.

[@sebptorres]

I think thats why I like roguelikes. I think of myself as a patient person and don't ragequit easily, because a part of me realizes that those deaths are not wasted time, they often are little lessons so that next time the outcome is better, even if it is little by little. Also, roguelites that keep upgrades after each failed atempt do feel like the wins you mention to keep you going. Very interesting video! I am still trying to beat Hades haha.